


Rod and Shield

by Paper0wl



Series: Rod and Shield [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Supernatural, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angels and Demons, Episode: s02e21 All Hell Breaks Loose, Episode: s02e22 All Hell Breaks Loose, Family Issues, Gen, Shield fights demons (sort of)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-25
Updated: 2014-03-25
Packaged: 2018-01-17 00:16:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1366918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paper0wl/pseuds/Paper0wl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>SHIELD's only resident demon expert noticed Azazel's pow-wow in Cold Oak and decided to crash the party. She has a loose interpretation of the rules and is more than willing to write her own when the occasion calls for it. </p><p>If Hellgates are involved, the occasion definitely calls for it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rod and Shield

**Author's Note:**

> I blame this on too much SPN, Avengers, and cross-over fanfic. I thought if AHBL happened differently, the rest of the series would be less depressing. Then I read a series that merged River Song with Natasha Romanoff and wondered what would happen if I did something similar with my SPN OC.

A black-haired woman glared at a man most people prayed never to cross. It was commonly believed that Nicholas Fury had changed his last name, either to be intimidating or to suit his disposition; else he just had _the_ most fitting name _ever_.  


“I warned you when you hired me – against my better judgment, mind you – that something could come up that would require me to take off or deal with it or both. You agreed. And something has come up and I need to go.”  


“To South Dakota.”  


“You’re lucky it’s not a more populated area. These people aren’t much concerned with civilian casualties.”  


“I remember,” he ground out. “Take Barton with you. And keep in touch.”  


“Of course.”  


With a brief nod, she turned and walked briskly from the office, already calling for Barton to prep to go.

 

Lily trudged through the woods. She was determined to put as much space between her and here as possible. Demons? _Hell_ , no. She was getting the hell out of Dodge no matter what that Sam guy said. Miles of woods beat demon town any day of the week. It wasn’t like her life didn’t suck already. They were a bunch of naïve, optimistic idiots. _Oh, woe is me, I get psychic visions._ Yeah right. Like any of them had a clue. None of _them_ had killed the only person they cared about. She hadn’t understood what happened to Dana, not then. Now, the existence of demons just proved she was cursed.  


And that little-girl giggling was kind of creeping her out.  


They were supposed to be in the middle of nowhere. Where had the kid come from? Lily didn’t want to think about it and walked faster.  


The giggling got closer.  


The faster she walked the closer the giggling got until Lily was outright running over the rough terrain, trying to get away from the creepy child she couldn’t see. Hiding in her house as she had for the past few months hadn’t left her equipped to run cross-country, so coupled with her curse, it really just figured that Lily tripped over a root.  


And that when she tried to get to her feet the dirty blonde little girl (demon) that Sam hit with an iron poker would be reaching for her.  


Lily screamed.  


An arrow ripped through the girl, dissolving her into a cloud of black smoke.  


Lily twisted to see a blonde man with a genuine _bow_ and another arrow already nocked and a woman with braided black hair beside him. Both searched for a reappearance of the demon, even as the woman approached her. Lily scrambled to her feet in an effort to avoid being offered a hand she would have to refuse. She got a piercing stare instead as she brushed leaves and dirt off her clothes.  


The woman spun suddenly, pushing Lily behind her as another arrow flew with a _twang_. “Persistent little bitch.”  


“I can’t say I’m fond of things that won’t stay dead,” said the archer. “When I hit my target – and I always hit my target – it’s supposed to go down. Ghost hunting’s not for me.”  


“It’s not a ghost, Clint,” the woman corrected, gently but insistently shepherding Lily toward him. “It’s a demon. Acheri.”  


“I’ll take your word for it. How do we kill it?”  


“I get close,” she said tersely, watching the woods.  


As if the words were a summons, the angry, psychotic girl returned. Lily found herself shoved out of the way as the woman lunged at the demon. It wouldn’t have been as bad if there hadn’t been a tree in that direction. Her already abused ankle protested the movement and Lily crashed into the trunk. She then had to quickly scuttle backwards as the bowman – Clint – tried to help her.  


The demonic child meanwhile went up in literal flames as the woman ran it through with what looked to be an electrified sword. Of course, seeing how this was an actual demon, for all Lily knew the sword could have been blessed by a priest or something and did the glowing-sparking thing in the presence of demons.  


“Leave her be, Clint,” the victorious and apparently uninjured woman called. “You don’t want to touch her.”  


“I don’t?”  


“Unless you want me to have to restart your heart, you don’t want to touch her,” she replied easily. Lily started at the woman’s knowledge. Then stared as the sword vanished.  


“I don’t want to touch her,” Clint agreed with a faint grimace.  


“Thought not.” But that didn’t stop the woman from reaching for her.  


Lily jerked away and stumbled. Righting herself quickly she demanded, “Don’t you follow your instructions? You can’t touch me! You’ll die.”  


“Oh, please,” the woman said disdainfully. “Ah – “ she broke off abruptly, clenching her jaw and grimacing. She thought for a moment and continued, “Yellow-eyed demon?”  


Lily’s eyes widened. “Okay, how do you know all of this?! You knew about the Acheri and you know about the yellow-eyed man and I only learned demons were real like an hour ago!”  


The woman gave a careless shrug. “I’m one of the few things on this earth more powerful than, uh, the demon with yellow eyes.” And before Lily could react, the woman’s hand was on her chin.  


She touched Lily’s skin with her own, tilting her head so she could see the scrape on her cheek.  


And she didn’t die.  


Lily just stared with wide eyes as the woman brushed dirt from the scrape. “Not too bad, considering. We have a first aid kit in the car. Come on.”

 

“You guys! I found something! Salt!” Andy grinned excitedly, holding up two bags of demon protection.  


“That’s great, Andy,” Sam said, grateful that something was going well. “Now, we all can . . . where’s Lily?”  


Everyone started calling for the girl. He should have known. Nice, convenient salt. Something had to go wrong. This was his life after all.  


“Wait, what was that?” Andy asked suddenly.  


Jake listened. “Sounds like a Humvee.”  


The four of them went outside. It was a Humvee, a black one with tinted windows.  


“Is it too much to hope they’re friendly?” Ava asked.  


“Probably,” Jake said worriedly.  


The driver exited armed and a woman with a no nonsense expression jumped down from the back. Both wore matching black shirts and cargo pants. She was followed by –  


“Lily! Oh my god!” Ava cried.  


“You found help?” Jake asked.  


Lily looked at her two companions. “Uh, they found me. Killed that Acheri girl before it could kill me.”  


The bowman surveyed the area with an almost military air. The woman on the other hand was more interested in the people, and Sam had a distinctly uneasy feeling about the way she regarded him as if he was something intriguing and dangerous and inconsequential, all at the same time. “Perhaps an introduction?” he suggested.  


“Sounds good,” the woman responded, “I’ll get started. Government,” she said, pointing at the bowman, “rebel,” indicating Lily , “hunter,” Sam, “soldier,” Jake, “stoner,” Andy, “witch,” Ava, “professional”, finally pointing to herself.  


Lily looked startled by her description, while Andy accepted his with grace; Jake’s was hardly a surprise as he wore his uniform. But Ava –  


“What do you mean ‘witch’?” Sam asked suspiciously.  


“What else do you call someone who gets power from making deals with demons?”  


“Ava?” Sam asked.  


“What are you talking about?” Ava gasped.  


“I killed your Acheri,” the woman said coldly, her expression making Sam wish he had a weapon. “It takes practice to control one like you did. How long have you been here?”  


“What? I don’t know – “  


“Don’t play games with me, girl.”  


As Sam watched, Ava straightened up and smirked. “Had them going though, didn’t I? Yeah, I’ve been here a long time. And not alone either. People just keep showing up. Children like us. Batches of three or four at a time.”  


Sam felt sick at the implications. “You killed them?” he asked in horror. “All of them?”  


“I’m the undefeated heavyweight champ,” she said proudly. “The wrench in the works notwithstanding,” she added, jerking her head at the two strangers.  


“Oh my God,” Lily whispered.  


“Don’t think God has much to do with this,” Ava said snidely.  


“You’d be surprised,” the woman commented.  


Sam shook his head. “How could you?”  


“I had no choice. It’s me or them. After a while, it was easy. It was even kind of fun. I just stopped fighting it.”  


“And now you have to stop,” commanded the woman.  


“Says you?” Ava laughed. “Yeah, I’m sorry, but that’s not going to happen.”  


“It will. I’ve done kill or be killed; the hardest part is knowing when to stop.”  


“I can’t stop,” Ava retorted. “Not yet. There can only be one, that’s what he said, the rest won’t survive. He only wants one of us!”  


“And it won’t be you!” the woman snapped furiously. “He isn’t as powerful as he makes himself out to be, child. He doesn’t know which of you is the one he needs, but I do – and it most certainly isn’t you. So if you want to believe only one of you is making it out of this accursed hellhole, understand that it will not be you.”  


“It will be me!” Ava snarled viciously.  


_Twang._  


The woman turned, stunned, to her partner as Ava fell to the ground with an arrow in her eye.  


The bowman shrugged. “Only way to stop her.”  


She grimaced. “I was afraid of that.”  


“You killed her!” Andy exclaimed, horrified.  


“If he didn’t, I would have,” the woman said wearily. “She willingly consorted with demons in order to kill and wasn’t going to stop, even though the need ended. This ends. After everything that bastard has done, I’m not letting him do this.”  


“Who _are_ you?” Sam demanded, finally losing patience with all the hints and cloak-and-dagger nonsense. “And what’s your history with the yellow-eyed demon?”  


Opening her mouth to respond, she stopped suddenly and looked thoughtful. “Call me Orion. If that demon can get into your heads, I’d rather you not have my name. Orion’s my government codename. It’ll do for now.”  


Her partner shrugged. “Clint Barton. Codename ‘Hawkeye’.”  


“Jake Talley.”  


“Andy Gallagher.”  


“Lily Baker.”  


“Sam Winchester. And he just killed Ava Wilson.”  


“Orion” didn’t look particularly concerned about the dead girl. “As for the demon, well, he’s been trying to kill me for a long time and got someone very important to me a few years ago. He must not have realized I was in the country, or else he doesn’t care, because this wasn’t exactly subtle.”  


_Subtle? How –_ oh. “You’re not human, are you?” Sam realized.  


Orion shrugged. “My mother was. I’m not anything that preys on humans, if that makes you feel any better. And, yes, the people I work for are human and know what I am. Most of them don’t _believe_ it, but they know.”  


“I suppose what you are is in the same category as your name?” he hazarded.  


“Smart,” she said with a grin just before her phone rang.  


“You have service?” he blurted out.  


“Government sat phone. And warded.” She answered it. “Hey Coulson. Yeah, we made contact with a few who would’ve been demon chow. And there’s a Jake Talley here who’s AWOL from,” she turned to the solider in question to fill in the blank.  


“Oh, uh, Afghanistan. Helmand province.”  


She repeated the information over the phone before Jake could add anymore. “Probably McNeill, but you can get an aide to run down the proper authority – that’s what they’re there for. No idea what you’re gonna tell the general, but you should probably pull the SHIELD umbrella; kid’s super-strong and demon-marked.” Orion rolled her eyes. “Yes, Clint got to test the salt-and-iron arrows. He loves new toys, less pleased when the demon reforms quickly, however. Oh, and update status to epsilon red. I’m telling you now. Yeah, yeah. Of _course_ it’s Alec, I told you that before I left. I don’t know yet, but if he’s true to form this is going to be bigger than Barseback would’ve been.”  


At that Clint looked worried. Sam was certain he’d heard the name before, but couldn’t place it.  


“Considering how long he’s been hunting me, I know full well to be careful. No, Phil, I planned on accidentally driving over the phone so I can’t get back-up with this goes pear-shaped like it always does when Alec gets involved. Yeah, I will.” The call ended.  


“Who’s Alec?” Andy asked.  


“Villain in _Goldeneye_. Hence the yellow-eyed demon,” she said with a smirk.  


“Oh God, my brother would love that,” Sam groaned. “Which reminds me, can I call him? He was with me before I was grabbed and he’s probably freaking out.”  


“He a hunter too?” she asked, a bit stiffly. “Older or younger?”  


“Older, Dean practically raised me. Which is why he’ll be panicking. So, can I borrow your phone please? I promise I’ll be careful not to break it,” he added when she looked at him oddly.  


She blinked and nodded. “Yeah. Sure. Here.”

 

Dean gave strong consideration to ignoring his phone.  


It was a useless piece of crap anyway, that wouldn’t connect to Sam’s. And the incoming number was unknown. Most likely someone who wanted him to solve their problems.  


He had enough trouble with his own.  


If he was honest with himself (which happened insanely rarely, if ever) he only answered the phone because of the (incredibly slim) hope that it might be his brother.  


Maybe there actually was a God because Dean was willing to believe in miracles at the blessedly reassuring sound of Sam’s voice.  


“Sam! Oh, thank God you’re alright. You are alright, right? Where are you?”  


“Uh – “  


Faintly he heard a woman’s voice on Sam’s side of the call. “Cold Oak.”  


“Seriously?” Sam asked in disbelief.  


“Cold Oak?” Dean repeated. “Where’s that?”  


And if Bobby’s attention hadn’t been attracted be Dean’s (totally not chick-flick-ish) exclamation of “Sam!” (which it had), it was certainly solidified by the name. “Balls. That’s a town so haunted everyone fled. South Dakota,” he supplied before Dean could ask.  


“One of the most haunted places in America. Huh. Well, I found the least haunted place,” Ash retorted, flourishing his map. “I see your South Dakota and I raise you Wyoming.”  


“What’s in Wyoming?” asked the woman.  


“Am I on speaker?” Dean demanded.  


“What?” Sam asked. “No.” Then, muffled, “Can you at least pretend this is a private call?”  


“You and your friends were dropped here by Alec. Your brother is currently in the company of someone Alec tried to kill shortly before we arrived. So, no, I cannot pretend you’re having a private call,” the woman replied. “And that’s ignoring the fact that you’re using my government issue phone, that I spent an entire afternoon painstakingly covering with intricate warding sigils.”  


As Dean tried to make sense of all the things that didn’t make sense about that response, Sam asked, “Who did Alec try to kill?” Then he groaned. “I can’t believe I just called him Alec.”  


“Who’s Alec?” Dean asked, putting his phone on speaker to silence Bobby’s glare.  


“Goldeneye,” the woman replied, the distance gone from her voice. Sam must have put his speaker on as well.  


“Goldeneye,” he repeated blankly. Then it hit him. “Seriously? You nicknamed the yellow-eyed demon with James Bond? That’s actually really cool.”  


“Glad you think so.” Dean could hear the smirk in her voice. “And he just tried to kill Ash, resident mulleted genius of the Harvelle Roadhouse. I don’t know what Ash found in Wyoming, but it’s something big Alec doesn’t want known.”  


“You’re right about that, _compadre_ , this is huge. Five churches, all built by Samuel Colt, the man who made the gun. All of ‘em connected by private rail lines.”  


“Five – oh. _Oh_.” She laughed. “Can I assume they form a devil’s trap?”  


“Oh, yes. A hundred-square-mile demon-free zone.”  


“That’s brilliant,” Dean said in awe.  


“I’ve never heard of anything that massive,” Sam remarked with astonishment.  


“No one has,” Bobby agreed.  


“That might explain all the smoke and mirrors out here,” the woman mused. “If he doesn’t _know_ – that would explain so much. He doesn’t know; he just wants whatever Colt was protecting.”  


“What was he protecting?” an unknown man with a Southern accent asked from Sam’s side of the conversation. “What’s in the middle of this – demon-free zone?”  


“That’s where things get murky,” Ash stated. “The only thing in the middle of this engineering marvel is an old cowboy cemetery.”  


“A cemetery?” the unnamed woman repeated. “That doesn’t make sense. No one died in the American Midwest during the mid-19th century to be of any use to Alec. He doesn’t need old graves, he needs – _fuck_.”  


“What?” Sam asked warily.  


“He needs _Lilith_. She needs to be topside before they can do much else. _Fuck_. I know what’s in that cemetery that Colt was so concerned about protecting. This isn’t epsilon red. It’s fucking omicron black.”  


A different man swore. “That bad?”  


“Think Barseback potential with the planet as ground zero. That’s what will happen if Lilith gets out. She’s mad. Alec’s focused and methodical. Lilith prefers fear and pain; the more collateral damage, the better.”  


“Lilith as in, biblical, Adam’s first wife, Lilith?” Bobby asked.  


“Yes. She was the first demon. She runs Hell and the only good thing about her is that she’ll be dead when the world ends.”  


“That’s . . . cheery,” commented another woman.  


“Dude, how many people do you have over there?” Dean demanded.  


“Six, including myself and Andy,” his brother replied. “Ava was here, but she summoned an Acheri to try to kill us, and Clint killed her. Orion’s doing most of the talking because she’s the only one who knows what’s going on.”  


“Orion?”  


“Yeah, that’s her codename. She doesn’t want us to know her name because apparently Alec can get into our heads when we’re asleep.”  


Dean considered. “Huh, I guess that explains why all the psychic kids who went off the reservation had dreams about a man with yellow eyes. And it’s much easier to call him ‘Alec’ than ‘the demon’ or ‘the yellow-eyed demon.’”  


Sam groaned. “I can’t believe he was named after a Bond villain.”  


The woman, Orion, snorted. “The government is really bad at naming things. That one’s one of the better names.”  


“How is the government even involved in this shit at all?” Dean wanted to know.  


“I was always part of it; the government , specifically SHIELD, only got involved when they got me. They didn’t believe in demons until they saw me kill one in Sweden. But that’s a different story. The important thing is for us to get out of here and meet up with you. You know of any place good now that there isn’t a Roadhouse anymore?”  


“Wha-what?” stuttered Sam. “What do you mean the Roadhouse is gone?”  


“It burned,” Bobby answered simply.  


“Even with Orion’s warning, I barely got out,” Ash added.  


“What about Ellen and Jo?” Sam questioned.  


“Jo hasn’t been around and Ellen wasn’t there. We ran out of pretzels,” Ash explained.  


“We were just about to go find her,” added Bobby.  


“Brilliant. Now. Location to meet?” Orion redirected.  


“My place,” Bobby offered. “Sam knows the way.”  


“See you there.”  


The call ended.  


Dean stared at his phone for a few moments, wondering how Sam’s “I’m alive” call got hijacked into an “everyone’s screwed” news update. He shook his head. “Alright then. Let’s find Ellen so we can go meet Sam before anything else can go wrong.”

 

Sam, meanwhile, wondered the same thing. No sooner had the call ended then Orion snatched her phone back. “Coulson? Yeah, I lied. Upgrade status to omicron black. Alec’s found a Devil’s Gate. Wyoming. No, he can’t get to it. Yeah, that’s why he’s shanghaied Talley and the others – he wanted one of them to open it. Yes, I know I’ve screwed up his plans. It’s a good thing he already wants to kill me! No, not right away. A couple of days at most, probably. I’ll figure something out. Yes, sir.” The last was imbued with a substantial amount of sarcasm and signaled the end of the conversation.  


“What’s Alec going to do, if he can’t get us?” Andy asked, worried.  


“Try harder,” was her grim response. “He’s not going to give you up easily.”  


“Can we kill him?” Everyone turned to look at Lily. “What?! You were all thinking it! Alec dies, end of the problem right?”  


But Orion shook her head. “As much as I love to, he isn’t going to show himself unless he thinks everything is going as planned. And I kind of screwed that up.”  


“Can we make him think his plan’s still working? Trick him into revealing himself?” Sam inquired.  


“His plan required a tainted human pawn. Are you volunteering?” Orion retorted.  


“ _Tainted_ human?” Jake repeated. “What do you mean by ‘tainted’?”  


Orion didn’t look particularly concerned about the question. “It’s possible you may have had abilities without Alec’s interference, but each of you possesses a minute amount of demon blood. It was incorporated in infancy.”  


“ _Demon_ blood?!”  


“Incorporated in infancy?”  


“What the fuck?!”  


Sam tried not to hyperventilate. Apparently Gordon _did_ have a reason to try to kill him after all.  


Orion turned to each of the horrified people in turn. “The night you turned six months old, Alec entered your nurseries and dripped his blood into your mouth.”  


“So I really _am_ cursed,” Lily said in horror.  


“Eh, sort of,” Orion replied with a shrug. “It’s not so bad. With training, I’m sure it could be highly useful.”  


“Training?” Lily exclaimed. “How can any sort of training get past me killing anyone I touch?”  


“It doesn’t work on me, remember?” Orion countered. “I’m good at what I do, I’m sure I can figure out how to give you a handle on your abilities.”  


“As useful as that sounds, I imagine it will be _after_ we deal with this Alec demon,” Jake pointed out. “You said he needs one of us; what would we have to do?”  


“Lie to his face while he’s inside your head. Basically, you’d have to convince him that if he gives you something that can be used against him, you’ll unleash hell on earth instead.”  


Andy shook his head. “I’m really bad at lying, man. I would be the first to admit that I am next to useless without my powers.”  


Likewise, Lily refused. “Alec did this to me. Because of him, Dana is dead. You give me something to hurt him and I’ll be at his throat in a heartbeat. No way could I fake going along with him.”  


That left Sam and Jake to stare at each other in the type of silent conversation that only worked with close friends or strangers of the same sex.  


Eventually Jake backed out as well. “I’d be willing to try, but this is more your field of expertise than mine.”  


Sam had to agree. “I guess I’m the fake pawn then. But if Alec’s in my head, won’t he know I’m lying to him?”  


“I actually think I have a solution for that,” Orion offered. “Will you trust me?”  


“Do I have another choice?”  


“Wait for Alec to show himself again,” she said with a shrug.  


“Are you going to do something to harm me?” Sam reluctantly asked, not wanting to let the demon disappear again, but not thrilled about a blanket “do you trust me” from a non-human woman he’d just met who flat out told him she was keeping secrets.  


“Probably make you uncomfortable, and sending you to face him alone will probably lead to harm, no matter what I do to minimize it,” she admitted.  


Making deals with non-human creatures never ended well. “I’m willing to trust you to act to the best of your knowledge and ability to get me through dealing with Alec alive and as unharmed as possible,” he hedged, trying to cover all the bases.  


She smirked. “Wording things like that, you’ll do fine.” Orion offered him a hand to shake.  


Sam took it and as her fingers tightened, everything went black.

 

“You guys! I found something! Salt!” Andy grinned excitedly, holding up two bags of demon protection.  


“That’s great, Andy,” Sam said, grateful that something was going well. “Now, we all can . . . where’s Lily?”  


Everyone started calling for the girl.  


They found Lily at the edge of town, a blank expression on her face. Seeing them, she immediately became angry. “You tried to kill me!” she screamed, launching herself at Ava, who threw out her hands to ward the other girl off. Jake immediately tried to intervene  


But in all the excitement they had forgotten about Lily’s ability because as soon as Lily touched her, Ava dropped lifelessly to the ground. Jake managed to snap her neck before he too succumbed to her power.  


“Oh my God!” Andy breathed in horror, backing slowly away from the three dead bodies. “Oh my God, that’s – how? What just happened?” In his uncoordinated retreat, Andy stumbled and fell backwards. Hitting his head against the side of the water tower.  


“Andy?” Sam said, hurrying over. His mouth went dry and he tasted acid in the back of his throat when he realized there was blood on the ground and the stoner’s head was lying at an impossibly awkward angle.  


The town was cursed. It had to be. Four dead in less than as many minutes.  


Sam turned to the road and ran. He had to get away from this town. First place he got to, he was stealing a car and heading to Bobby. Considering how much they traveled around, Bobby was remarkably close. Maybe he could help.

 

Sam woke with a headache on Bobby’s couch. He squeezed his eyes tight in an effort to squash the headache. It didn’t work.  


“Howdy, Sam.”  


He was on his feet in flash, staring wide-eyed at the yellow-eyed demon.  


Not possible. Bobby’s place was protected against demons, right? “I’m dreaming,” Sam declared. It was the only option that made sense. Everyone else had had dreams about the demon after all.  


The demon gave a sharp, toothed grin. “Congratulations, Sam. You’re it – the last man standing. The American Idol. I have to admit, that wasn’t quite how I thought it’d play out, but still, I gotta give it to you.”  


“Go to hell,” Sam told him.  


“Been there. Done that. But now the beauty pageant’s over and I’ve got the best of your generation.”  


“My generation?” There’d been other psychic kids in the past?  


“Well, there’s other generations, but let’s just worry about yours. That’s why I’m here, Sam. You were always my favorite. You’re tough. You’re smart. You’re well-trained, thanks to your daddy. I’ve been rooting for you from the start.”  


“For what? I thought we were supposed to be – “  


“Soldiers in a coming war? That’s true. You are. But I didn’t need soldiers. I need soldier. Just the one. And that’s you. Just the leader I’m looking for.”  


“To lead what?”  


“Oh, I’ve already got my army. Or, I will soon, anyway.”  


“You son of a bitch. You ruined my life. You killed everyone I love.”  


“The cost of doing business, I’m afraid. I mean, sweet little Jessica – she just had to die. You were all set to marry that little blonde thing, become a tax lawyer with two kids, a beer gut, and a little McMansion in the suburbs. I needed you sharp, on the road, honing your skills. Your gifts.”  


Sounded like Lily was right. More of a curse than a gift. “What about my mom?”  


“That was bad luck,” the demon explained. And Sam felt sick as the demon showed him a scene from the past, where the demon bled into the mouth of Sam’s six-month-old self and Mary rushed in and recognized the demon.  


“She knew you,” Sam accused.  


The demon changed the scene back to Bobby’s house with a snap of his fingers. “What? You think I chose my kids at random? No, Sam, I’ve been planning this for a long time. I needed you.”  


“Needed me for what?” Sam demanded.  


“Oh, I got a laundry list to tasty things for you.”  


“The only thing I’m going to do is wake up, hunt you down, and kill you myself.”  


“Like your daddy tried to do? It’s not that easy, Sam. Trust me. You want to be a good little soldier here.”  


“I was never a good little soldier,” Sam retorted waspishly. _That was always Dean_.  


“In that case, well, that crotchety old hunter you ran to, that dear, dear brother of yours . . . I’ll make certain that they both live long enough to know the chewy taste of their own intestines.”  


“We’ll kill you if you try!”  


“Again, Sam, others have tried, you’ll notice who’s still here. Not them. Not your Daddy.”  


“Don’t talk about him! You killed him!”  


“He made a deal with me,” the demon corrected. “And he screams so beautifully downstairs. But I’ll tell you what, you caught me in a charitable mood. You be my good little soldier, and I’ll let him go.”  


Sam froze. “What do you want me to do?”

 

Sam woke with a headache on Bobby’s couch. Although when he heard Ash giving what sounded like a lecture on proper stoner etiquette, he wondered if he was dreaming. At least this was a better dream. He sat up with a groan.  


“Sam!”  


Dean wrapped him in a worried hug.  


He was definitely dreaming.  


“I’m fine, Dean,” he mumbled.  


A snort drew both brothers’ attention across the room. Orion leaned against the doorway. “Fine. Right. What did he say?”  


“What did _who_ say?” Dean demanded.  


“Alec.”  


As if her words opened a door in his head, he remembered. Lily stepping out of a Humvee with two strangers and the strange conversation that followed. Agreeing to lure Alec – the demon, not Alec, it was a demon, not a Bond villain – out. Then Lily attacking Ava and their bodies crumpled on the ground. And while the second version felt real and Sam could still feel the stunningly horror of watching everyone die, Orion’s presence and her offer to shield the truth from the demon implied that the first was the reality. He also remembered the demon in the dream.  


“He,” Sam had to swallow as his voice failed him. “He offered to let Dad go.”  


“ _What_?” Dean exclaimed.  


“If I do what he wants, he’ll let Dad’s soul go.”  


As Dean babbled and stuttered, Orion developed a predatory grin. “That works out better than I thought. Hold him to that, Sam. Whatever else, make him agree to your father’s release in return for opening that gate.”  


“I thought we agreed that opening the Devil’s Gate was a bad idea,” Dean protested. “Worse than Bareback, you said.”  


“Barseback,” Sam corrected.  


“Yeah, sure. What the fuck is Barseback?”  


“Nuclear power plant in Sweden that was shut down eight years ago,” Bobby announced. “Ain’t nothing I could find on how that was a problem, though, our kind or otherwise.”  


The self-proclaimed professional gave a huff of humorless laughter. “Yeah, that was a cover-up of crazy conspiracy-theorist proportions. A demon tried to overload the reactors. Clint watched me stop it and SHIELD offered me a job.”  


Sam blinked. “You stopped a demon from blowing up a nuclear power plant? How?”  


“Not human, remember?” she replied.  


“Yeah,” Dean answered, “which makes you telling my brother to help a demon incredibly suspect. Especially when I thought opening a Devil’s Gate was bad. Like, really, really, world-ending-ly bad.”  


She smirked. “Alec only _thinks_ he’s gonna end the world. I can keep demons from climbing out the open gate long enough for one of you to close it again.”  


“Oh. Really?”  


“Really,” Orion affirmed.  


“Okay,” Sam said. “Where is everyone?”  


Dean began to list people off. “Ash wrangled Andy, Ellen’s warding the property with soldier-boy, the chick’s been hiding in the office, ‘researching’, and I don’t know where your boyfriend got to,” he added, glancing at Orion.  


She snorted. “Clint’s not my boyfriend. And he’s probably on the roof.”  


“The roof?! Why the hell would he be up there?”  


“He likes high places, the higher the better. Let’s him keep an eye on things. And if you’ll excuse me, I have to report in and check the status of the supplies I requisitioned.”  


“Supplies for what?” Bobby asked.  


“Nothing major, just breaking a railway line and then repairing it five minutes later.” She shrugged. “It’s a giant devil’s trap and we have a demon we need to trap in it.” 

 

Sleeping in the car was uncomfortable, but Sam had long since gotten used to it. And after stealing a car from Bobby’s yard and driving out to Wyoming against Dean’s wishes, he needed the rest before he met the demon. Stretching to rid himself of the cramps, Sam realized he was procrastinating. He steeled himself and drove out to where the railroad tracks crossed the road. Getting out of the car, he started to see the demon appear behind him.  


“Howdy, Sam,” he said, flashing his yellow eyes. “So, did you have a nice trip?”  


Sam unclenched his jaw. “I’m here. I did what you asked.”  


“Fifty miles, thataway,” the demon pointed across the tracks, “there’s a cemetery. A crypt. You got to open that for me. Think you can manage that, sport?”  


The demon’s attitude grated on already raw and stretched nerves. “You know what? Screw you. Go do it yourself.”  


“Oh, I can’t. I can’t go that way – not yet.”  


“Why not?” Sam glanced back curiously. The demon _couldn’t_ go that way? Was that why he needed him?  


“I just can’t. But if you’re gonna open that crypt for me, you’re gonna need a key.”  


Sam’s eyes widened as he stared at what the demon pulled from his pocket. “The Colt.”  


“Yep. Half the price of big brother’s life.”  


Sam took the weapon he was offered, cocked the gun and aimed it at the demon.  


Who clutched a hand to his chest in mock betrayal. “Oh, my. I’m shocked at this unforeseen turn of events. Go ahead, Sam. Squeeze that trigger. Be all that you can be. This’ll all be over. Your life can go back to normal. Of course, your ‘normal’ involves risking your life over and over again, thanklessly, while your Daddy roasts in Hell. But then, on the other hand, I did promise to put a stop to that. And all you got to do is this one little thing.”  


“Why me?” he choked out. _Why’d you have to destroy my life?_  


“Oh, Sam. It’s got to be you. I’ve been waiting for you for a very long time. You’re my leader. You open that crypt, and you will have your army.”  


He hadn’t spent a mockery of a childhood hunting monsters because he was stupid. “You’re talking about the end of the world.” _I thought opening a Devil’s Gate was bad. Like, really, really, world-ending-ly bad._ Sam shook his head and focused on the demon. _The_ demon.  


"No,” the demon explained, with a far-away smile like he was thinking about paradise that raised the hair on Sam’s neck. “Not the end – the beginning . . . a better world, where your family will be protected. Johnny-boy would have a get-out-of-jail-free card. You all would. No demon would dare touch your family. Whaddya say? It’s your call.”  


There was almost nothing Sam wanted more in the world than to pull the trigger. This demon killed Mom, killed Jess, took Dad’s _soul_ – and he could finally kill the bastard.  


But then Dad would burn in Hell. And that really would be Sam’s fault. He lowered the gun, amazed his hands didn’t shake.  


“Attaboy,” the demon said.

 

Sam had just inserted the Colt into the crypt’s locking mechanism when his brother appeared.  


“Sam!”  


He turned, and as he did, he caught sight of the familiar black-haired woman standing beside the crypt. She smirked and Sam briefly wondered if this was such a good idea after all.  


The engravings on the crypt door were spinning.  


“ _Now_ , Clint!” she yelled as the designs stopped moving. She wrenched the gun from the doorway and tossed it to Dean before pulling a knife. The knife came down across her palm and she slammed her bloody hand onto the stone just as the doors burst open.  


A large black mass erupted from the crypt, only to be caught in a net that appeared to be made of lightning.  


“Please tell me that’s you, Orion!” Dean yelled.  


“No, it’s the boogeyman!” she shouted back, strain evident in her voice. “Someone close the fucking gate already! Not you!” she added when Sam made a move. “Your deal prevents you from closing what you opened.”  


“Come on,” Ellen shouted, running towards where the swirling blackness of Hell’s demons were being restrained by crawling white-blue lightning snakes, Bobby hard on her heels.  


Dean hoped like Hell that Orion kept the lightning up, because if she couldn’t . . . Hell on Earth. And Sam had opened the door – if the guilt didn’t kill him, the dickhead hunters who’d already been sniffing around the psychic shit would probably hunt him down. So if Orion failed, Dean would kill her. Didn’t matter what she was, the Colt would kill her.  


In the meantime, though, if all had gone as planned (a rarity), then the railway iron had been cut by Clint, and Alec – the demon – would be appearing any minute to see what he had wrought.  


Thunder crashed overhead and when Dean looked to see what progress Bobby and Ellen had made on the gate (minimal), he went flying into a tombstone, the gun yanked from his grip.  


“Boys shouldn’t play with Daddy’s guns,” remarked the yellow-eyed demon.  


Sam, while not allowed to help close the gate, wasn’t about to stand around while his brother was attacked. “Dean!” he cried, running for his brother.  


Alec waved a hand and Sam was thrown against a nearby tree. “Well, look at you, Champ. I’d say I’m disappointed in you, but – it takes guts to double-cross a demon. Especially me.”  


“Leave him alone,” Dean shouted, struggling to sit up.  


The demon threw him against a post. “I’ll get to you in a minute.” Alec turned back to his brother. “I’m not easy to fool, Sammy. I’d ask you how you pulled it off, but the answer’s right there.” He aimed the Colt toward the source of the lightning net. “How you doing there, Princess? Haven’t heard from you in decades. Pity it had to come to this – you could have been even bigger than your Daddy.” He cocked the gun.  


Orion laughed. It came out strained and more than a little maniacal. “I hope he enjoys rotting in Hell.”  


Alec frowned. “I know I’ve been rooting for Sammy here from the start, but some of my other kids made it, didn’t they?”  


Even from a distance, her smirk was evident.  


“Was I right? Is baby Winchester the general I need?”  


“You don’t need a general if you don’t have an army,” Orion retorted. “And without my so-called sister, your general’s not going anywhere.”  


“I shoot you, Kyria dear, and the game’s back on.”  


“Oh, but I think you’re forgetting something, Azazel,” Orion/Kyria challenged.  


“Oh?” Alec/Azazel asked archly. “And what’s that?”  


“A few things. One, after all this time, I’m not gonna die easy. Two, Winchesters are stubborn sons of bitches. And third, Sam held up his side of the deal.”  


There was a ripple in the shifting wall of lightning and John grabbed the demon from behind. The body fell to the ground while John’s spirit and the black smoke that was the yellow-eyed demon – Azazel – fought. Freed, Dean lunged for the Colt. When Azazel reentered his meatsuit and stood up, Dean pulled the trigger.  


The demon lit up with a red-orange light briefly before falling down dead.  


Bobby and Ellen slammed the crypt doors shut on the lightning-wrapped black smoke. Ellen then had to catch Orion – Kyria – before she dropped to the ground.  


Dean clambered to his feet and faced John. It might be a ghost or a spirit or whatever, but it was still his Dad. John smiled at him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Dean was _not_ going to cry, dammit, he didn’t _do_ chick-flick moments. But it had hurt all year, knowing Dad had sold his _soul_ to save him. He was free now. They were all free. Sam came over, and after all the fights and angry words between them, he and Dad nodded at each other. And Dean _really_ wasn’t going to cry, even if his family was together again for a moment. Then John stepped back, disappearing into white light, and the moment was over.  


“It’s done, Clint. Seal it up,” Orion/Kyria said over her fancy government anti-demon comm.  


The group made it to their cars before Dean spoke again.  


“I don’t know how we managed to pull off a best case scenario, and I’m very happy that that particular gamble paid off, but now that Alec, or Azazel, or whoever the fuck he was is dead, can you please explain who the fuck you are?”  


Among the offended looks, Orion/Kyria laughed. “You have a way with words, Dean.”  


“It’s one of my better qualities.”  


She shook her head, amused. “When we get back to the safe house, I’ll explain everything.”

 

Having been situated on the edge of Colt’s trap, Clint and co had made it back sooner. Coffee and soup were waiting when they reached the government safe house. Dean would feel safer back at Bobby’s, but he was willing to admit that this was much closer, even if it was a bit cramped with ten people.  


“We’re here. Now talk.”  


Clint shot Dean a glare, but Orion/Kyria just waved it off.  


“Okay, first off, my name’s Kyria. I’m on the books as Kyria Lux, but it’s really Kyria Morningstar.”  


“As in . . .” Ellen’s voice trailed off.  


“Yep. My father. I’m half human. Lucifer’s locked in a cage in Hell, and I’m perfectly happy to leave him there for eternity. My life is a long complicated mess, but the simple version is Heaven and Hell try to kill me and I tell them all to fuck off.”  


“Heaven’s real?” Sam asked in awe.  


“Yeah, but angels aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. They keep trying to kill me, and I kill whoever tries. They’ve got this big spiel on destiny and ineffability and frankly I don’t give a damn. I’m not Falling anytime soon; I’m not letting anyone or anything kill me for something I _might_ do. Especially when that ‘might’ is just about the last thing I _want_ to do. Like I said, complicated mess.”  


“He called you Princess,” Dean said.  


She shrugged. “Azazel ruled Hell in Lucifer’s absence. He alternated between trying to kill me as a threat to his power and trying to recruit me to help him. Had I accepted, I would have been Hell’s Princess. But that isn’t happening anytime in the next few millennia. Especially after a demonic hit squad killed my boyfriend.”  


“ _Millennia?_ ” Ash exclaimed. “Wicked.”  


“What’s his story?” Bobby asked, jerking a thumb where Clint was perched on the counter, glaring at everyone. “And don’t tell us the bullshit story.”  


“Grew up in the circus. My mentor tried to turn me into a mercenary. I left. SHIELD took me.” The archer finished with a shrug and a look that dared someone to press further because he hadn’t gotten to shoot anything since the Acheri that wouldn’t go down and he wanted to.  


No one cared to test him, although Sam had to step on his brother’s foot. Hard.  


Clint shrugged again and continued. “Couple years later I got a kill order on Morningstar, followed her to the power station and realized we don’t know shit about the world. Ended up giving her a badge instead of an arrow. Probably worked out better in the end.”  


Kyria snorted. “Yeah, well, if I was dead, there’s nothing that would have stopped Azazel from opening that Gate and getting all the pawns on the board.”  


“Who was it?” Sam asked suddenly.  


“Hmm?”  


”You said he only needed one of us and you knew who it was? Was he right?” Sam looked at her and fidgeted. “Was it me?”  


She released a long, slow breath. “That circles back to the complicated mess. Please no one freak while I try to explain this in a way that makes any sense at all.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly again. “Okay, so, Lucifer is locked up in a cage in Hell. There exists a key to the cage, but it’s a very complicated and specific process. There are about six hundred Seals. Sixty-six need to be broken in order to free Lucifer. Most can be done whenever, but the first and last are very precise. With no Righteous Man in Hell to kick-start the process, they’re shit out of luck. And – remember the only good thing about Lilith? That she’ll be dead at the end of the world? Well, she’s Seal Number Sixty-Six. She dies, at the right time and the right place and Lucifer’s loose.”  


“What’s that got to do with what uh, Azazel wanted with us?” Jake asked.  


“I’m getting there.” Kyria did another slow breath and grimaced. “Lucifer’s a fallen angel. And angels, like demons, need to exist in human form.”  


“They possess people?” Dean exclaimed.  


“They need permission,” Kyria corrected. “Demons steal your body; angels have to ask to take it. Even Lucifer. But he’s a special case and a mere human body wouldn’t be enough to contain him properly. He needs one with a bit of Hell in its system.”  


“The demon blood,” Lily ventured, looking green.  


“What demon blood?” demanded Dean. The past few days had been a hectic mess and the curveballs just kept coming. One might think with the damn yellow-eyed demon dead at long last, there’d be some peace, but _noooo_. Now there was Lucifer and his kid and freakin’ _angels_. Whatever happened to wendigos and killer trucks?  


Sam looked sheepishly at his brother. “The night Mom died, it’s because she interrupted the demon while he was feeding me his blood. Apparently Azazel did that with all of us.”  


He could _feel_ the blood disappearing from his face, leaving him somewhat light-headed. Dad had known. At least partly. Save him or kill him. Sonuvabitch. Dean almost wished Azazel was still alive so he could kill him again. He managed to work moisture back into his dry mouth. “Is it gonna cause problems? This demon blood?” he heard himself ask.  


“Not more than it already has – I suspect it is responsible for the emergence of the various abilities. There’s a strong possibility those abilities will wane with Azazel’s death, but they’re a part of you now, and will never be gone completely. So, I recommend training. But the good thing is, with Azazel dead, it’s much more difficult for demons to mess with you.”  


Of the four “psychic” kids, Lily was still the greenest, but even she nodded.  


“Back to the devil needing a body,” Ash prodded, somehow managing to look simultaneously fascinated and disturbed.  


“Angel vessels follow certain bloodlines,” Kyria explained obligingly. “I’ve been trying to trace them for years. Suffice to say, they’re extremely rare. Additionally, there’s what is called a True Vessel. An ordinary vessel can hold an angel – for a limited time, depending on the strength of the human and the power of the angel. Eventually, the human body breaks down. But with a True Vessel, that never happens. The angel can remain in the body indefinitely with minimal damage to the vessel.”  


“Minimal?” Ellen repeated.  


A shrug. “Human minds can get – traumatized – by prolonged proximity to the full force of an angel. Imagine trying to share an ant’s body – you’re too big and it’s too small.” Kyria sighed unhappily. “And Azazel was always a canny bastard because somehow he guessed right – Sam here is Lucifer’s True Vessel. And because karma’s a bitch and my grandfather, wherever he is, seems to have a rather twisted sense of humor, Dean is Michael’s.”  


“I’m supposed to be, what, an angel condom?!”  


Kyria snorted, genuinely amused. Then she sobered. “If Lucifer ever gets free, you’ll have angels banging down your door to get you to say ‘yes’ to Michael so the two of archangels can bring on the apocalypse. Good thing I don’t plan on my father getting out anytime soon. Or, you know, ever.”  


Ellen crossed her arms and shifted her weight in way that strongly suggested she was uncomfortable. “So the boys would be at the center of a shitstorm of epic proportions, but with Azazel dead and Lilith still in Hell, that ain’t gonna happen?”  


“Basically,” Kyria agreed. “I mean, there’s a bit more to it than that, but yeah, that’s a fair summary. I’m rather too fond of this world to let Heaven or Hell torch it. Besides, if the world ends, I die too – neither side likes me much.”  


“I may be biased, but I think I like being on your side,” Andy offered.  


“Seconded,” Ash said. “Without your warning, I would’ve still been in the Roadhouse when it burned.”  


“Glad we’re all agreed on the end of the world bein’ a bad thing,” Bobby announced. “Whataya expect from us now that it ain’t ending?”  


“Well, seeing how I don’t really go for eternal servitude, I figured I’d offer SHIELD support. You know, things like real government IDs for the hunters. And unless you have some objection, I’m sure SHIELD would be more than willing to train the trio of non-hunters Azazel kidnapped.”  


There was more than a little astonishment and disbelief, but in the end, no one had any objections.

**Author's Note:**

> There will probably be more if I ever sort out the confusing and contradictory tangle of ideas I have for the future of the characters in this AU. 
> 
> Suggestions are always welcome.


End file.
